Olaya Hotel Exterior Design

Olaya Hotel lies smack in the heart of the city of Al Khobar and has turned into an even more of a contextual centerpiece due to its tall façade that is visible from all four sides. Therefore, the Olaya Hotel exterior design is a critical part of the city’s urban context, and CAS was tasked with designing a façade that would do justice to its contextual importance.

The existing Olaya Hotel exterior design enjoys a landmark status, which means that its design has to be eye-catching but elegant at the same time. Its four-sided visibility called for something that had to be unique and avant-garde, but at the same time, had to match with the understated elegance that defined the interior design palate of the hotel. Furthermore, Mazen Aizouki – the client – wanted a building that would offer a harmonious internal-external connection to the desired demographic of guests.
So the CAS design team responded by designing a hybrid modern-traditional scheme that would complement the overall context of the KSA’s visual palate while maintaining a contemporary aesthetic unique to its own. In this way, the Olaya Hotel exterior design ended up with tall windows, black and white material composition and a belt of mosaic shapes that straddle the building – an ode to the Islamic style of architecture and design.
The glass walls of the lobby, coupled with the tall windows that comprise of the upper floors provide an elegant and chic look that portrays the modern side of the exterior palate. However, a belt of the decorative grille that surrounds the main building creates a beautiful traditional contrast to the contemporary sensibilities of the glass front. Therefore, the Olaya Hotel exterior design portrays a dichotomous visual style, which features a delicate balance of modernity and tradition.
One of the major design contributions for the Olaya Hotel exterior design was setting back the main lobby and entrance a bit back from the main crossing. This was deliberately done to create a more welcoming entrance. The huge space seems to exude a sense of invitation, which always leaves a positive effect on guests. Moreover, the intricate harmony between the interior and exterior space continues by the use of tall windows in the façade – which adequately provides the perfect visual connection between the city-scape and the café interior design.
Overall, the project successfully managed to capture the landmark essence of the Olaya Hotel exterior design. Its juxtaposed aesthetics of modern come traditional may have sounded ambitious, but the execution is even more charming and sophisticated in reality. The exterior of this hotel manages to look inviting, eye-catching and contextually relevant – all at the same time. Furthermore, the interior-exterior connection has been executed in a versatile way.